Zinkhan a no-show for flight

Federal agents keep watch at Hartsfield

The University of Georgia professor suspected of killing his wife and two men a week ago did not attempt to use a plane ticket to Amsterdam on Saturday.

Federal agents waited at Hartsfield-Jackson-Atlanta International Airport to see if George Zinkhan III would show, but the Delta Airlines jet apparently took off Saturday afternoon without him.

"We have his picture posted in our break rooms. Our employees are on alert and aware of the situation," said Transportation and Securities Administration spokeswoman Andrea McCauley.

Although she did not know what day TSA put employees on watch for Zinkhan, officials wouldn't have waited until Saturday, she said.

"In cases like this - with missing children and other similar situations - we post any information as soon as possible," she said.

Zinkhan is wanted for murder in the daylight shootings of his wife, Marie Bruce, 47, and two men, Tom Tanner, 40, and Ben Teague, 63.

Police and witnesses say Zinkhan opened fire with two handguns at a gathering of the Town & Gown Players theater troupe last Saturday, drove his young children to a neighbor's house and disappeared.

When authorities learned he had a May 2 airline ticket to The Netherlands, where he teaches part time, and couldn't find his passport, the FBI charged him with fleeing out of concern that he would try to leave the country that day or sooner.

The search for Zinkhan spans several states, though authorities found his 2005 Jeep Liberty abandoned late Thursday night, just a few miles down a rural two-lane road from his house. The SUV was put into drive and pushed into a ravine.

More than 100 agents from local, state and federal agencies swarmed the property, and a few continued to patrol the area Saturday, but saw no more signs of Zinkhan.

And the crush of media reports after the Jeep's discovery didn't generate useful new leads, according to Capt. Clarence Holeman, assistant commander of the Athens-Clarke police Criminal Investigations Division.

Still, people across the country are following the case and looking for the wanted professor, said Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman John Bankhead.

"He knows that people are looking for him and there's a lot of pressure on him, he will make a mistake eventually," Bankhead said.

High-profile cases bring a tsunami of dead-end tips, even if the callers only are trying to help police, Bankhead said.

While Zinkhan could have changed his appearance, Bankhead advised people to look for his build - 6-foot-3, 240 pounds.

"He can't change his height. He can shave, he can dye his hair, but he can't change his height," Bankhead said.